The Legend of Fire Emblem
by MitchMyester
Summary: King Ashnard finds himself in search of a god in Hyrule, and starts a fight across the dimensions for supremacy. In an effort to fight back, Link joins with the heroes of Fire Emblem to fight the unholy union that is brought on by the two kings of evil. Rated T for violence, mild language, and dark themes.
1. Prologue

**My first crossover fic, and I hope to bring as much from the two worlds of Fire Emblem and Legend of Zelda as possible. Just a note to look at before reading, because there wasn't enough to fit in. Screw canon, all of that is basically thrown out the window, as Fire Emblem hardly ever follows a canon anyways (part of the beauty of the series). So, this story is going to feature: Link, Zelda, Impa, Ganondorf, Ashnard, Marth, Caeda, Roy, Lilina, Lyn, Ike, Chrom, Lucina, Leo, Sakura, and much much more! I'll leave it up to you to figure out who else I'll use.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

A dark shadow raced across the plains of Hyrule. A figure sat astride the black wyvern which soared through the sky. Clothed in elegant robes befitting a king, strapped in heavy armor and a red cape, Ashnard eyed the land. He laughed to himself, thinking about how easily this land would've been to take. _To think that a god couldn't keep his hands on this place because of a boy._

 _However weak he may be, a god is still a god, and in my pursuits, his foolishness and power could prove useful. Now that his seal has been broken, I was certain some kind of dark cloud would reveal his location, but not so?_ Ashnard had been hard at work in his short time in Hyrule. Upon his arrival he immediately set out to find the ancient god of legend the witch who summoned him here had told him about.

In his search, he had gone to temples of old, discovering old sages in prayer to a simple sword that would prove to a great hindrance to the god's power. He killed them without any shred of mercy, ending their pleas to the goddesses above to protect them with the so-called divine blade of evil's bane. That was all the witch had told him concerning the god, how to release him.

 _I wonder where in this godsforsaken land he could possibly be?_ Ashnard had been seeking some sign or other of the return of a god, but could simply find no trace. There were far too many temples to seek out in this place. _A terribly religious people, apparently._

Ashnard was en route to the city of Hyrule Castle Town, where there was a library full of books that he could use to learn the history at the very least. Perhaps there he could find a clue as to the god's potential whereabouts. Or at least, due to the language of the people he couldn't read, some scribe who could tell him.

In his short time in Hyrule, Ashnard could see that there were no creatures like wyverns or pegasi, advantageous for him, as it seems this people had no proper defense against an attack from him or one of his many wyvern knights. Though they had arrows, they weren't trained to defend themselves against such a foe.

He was sure to land his wyvern farther from the city, so as to keep himself within a low profile until it was time to truly strike. The foolish king of Hyrule could have no knowledge that their precious sages were disposed of, not until the time was right. _It will be certainly pleasant to fly right to their tallest tower to conquer their pitiful castle with ease._

He removed his robes and armor, placing simple peasant's robes about his form and proceeded to walk the rest of the way to the city where the library lay. There was no reason for anyone to recognize him as royalty yet. At least not until he could reveal himself as their future god and king.

He walked into town, being sure to keep up his frayed hood, keeping as much attention away from himself as possible. The town was alive, the sun was high in the sky, and business was obviously going well for these simpletons. It disgusted him to see so many smiles across the faces of a people who were so doomed to serve him.

 _That wench. She could've saved me the trouble of this damned search and just told me where to find it, but NO._ Ashnard had been much happier ruling over his own land, but knew that his time was short there. He walked through the gaping doorway of the Castle Town Library, not knowing what he would see upon entering.

There was a large mural across the wall in front of him. A few peasants were walking in and out of the pitiful library, obscuring bits of the mural from vision in momentary lapses. He impatiently walked to the mural to see what was so important for the Hyruleans to know and remember.

Three golden triangles, surrounded by goddesses, it appeared. An evil looming from the desert to the West, and a boy in green coming from a forest to the South. A pathetic looking Princess glowing atop a castle in the midst of the land, where he knew he now stood. _An evil cloud to the West?_ That looked as promising a place as ever to begin, but he had to be sure before making such a trek so far only to fall short of his goal. The texts surrounding the mural were unreadable to his eyes.

"YOU!" he shouted demandingly at a passing nobleman, who wore a wide-brimmed hat, topped with a silly feather. "Tell me what all this means." The nobleman looked dignified to have been referred to in such a disrespectful manner, but was intimidated far too much to deny Ashnard's request.

"Do you mean to tell me you know nothing of the Triforce?" asked the noble intriguingly.

Ashnard didn't reply, staring the man down with his mad eyes.

"R-right, you must not be from around here, I suppose," said the noble, shaking without understanding his own fear of the man in front of him. "Well, there is a book that talks much more in detail about it, if you wanted a deeper story than just my memory."

"Tell me the book, and tell me the story," said Ashnard fiercely. "I have plenty of time to waste on the book later, but I need my own answers now. Have you a god in this land?"

"Goddesses, three of them," answered the nobleman, stroking his fine beard with a gloved hand. "Follow me so we can be seated. It may take some time to explain, and I've been on my feet all the day." Ashnard followed the man to a place where a round table surrounded by chairs was located. It was crafted of a cheap wood for such a fine library, but it would have to do.

"Tell me about these goddesses," said Ashnard impatiently as he sat down.

"Certainly," said the noble, clearly giving up hope of being without Ashnard. "But before we begin, let me send for your book. I assume you can read?"

Again, Ashnard answered the man with silence.

"I see, not from around here, so you must have a different set of characters you're familiar with," said the noble, flatteringly. "Right, no book then. About the Triforce? Where to begin…"

Din, Nayru, and Farore, the three goddesses of Hyrule, created the world and everything in it. At their departure for a sacred realm, they left the Triforce, three golden triangles which, when brought together, would grant whoever touched it any wish they had. Obviously this kind of power was sought by both good and evil. Before the kingdom of Hyrule was formed, another goddess, Hylia, had commissioned a boy to save her and the land, protecting the Triforce from falling to evil.

A demon was slain by the green-clad boy, and the kingdom of Hyrule was started by him and a Princess by the name of Zelda. To this day in her honor, every firstborn daughter of the royal family would bear the name Zelda. This meant nothing to Ashnard, all except the Triforce, an enticing power to say the least, though he was certain he wouldn't need it.

During a time of peace, a thief rose from the desert and claimed the Triforce for himself, plunging the world in darkness. From the South forest, a boy claimed a legendary sword and piece of the Triforce and sealed the evil thief away. _Sealed,_ thought Ashnard. _Sounds like an immortal if I've ever heard of one._

"…and that's all that I know about the story," said the noble, tired after giving his longwinded recounting of the nation's history.

"This thief you spoke of," started Ashnard, uninterested in the rest of the story, "would you consider him to be a god as well?"

"More of a demon than a god if you ask me," said the noble. "But there are some who worship him as a god. Usually thieves and evildoers seeking to justify themselves behind him as a symbol.

"Name?" asked Ashnard.

"You really don't know anything, do ya?" scoffed the noble. "Ganondorf was his name. He came from the Gerudo Desert, a land full of thieves who worship spirits in their temple, far to the West."

That was all that Ashnard needed to know. This Ganondorf clearly had to be exactly who he was looking for, and Ashnard didn't need to waste anymore of his time in this boring, happy little city. Without another word he stood up and walked from the where the noble still sat gawking at such a rude exit from someone who had taken up so much of his time without compensation.

"I say!" shouted the noble as he strode to keep up with Ashnard's pace. "You can't just leave me like that, what are you up to?" Ashnard took one deadly glance at him and he fell silent and stopped following him.

If an evil god was released, it would only make sense for it to return to a place it once called home, complete with some temple of spirits, no less. Bumping into several peasants as he walked briskly out of the sunny town, though the sun had gotten significantly lower in the sky than when he had entered the library.

* * *

Night was a perfect time to arrive at a desert. The moon was high in the sky as Ashnard began to make his descent towards what he supposed had to be the temple that the noble had been referring to. The desert air was freezing cold, though he was clad from shoulder to toe in armor and robes. He only felt it around his head. The temple was huge, and had a daunting appearance like that of a dungeon where inmates would've been kept indefinitely.

A dark cloud and lightning struck all around the structure, though Ashnard's wyvern was trained well enough to continue through it. He smirked as he knew that power awaited him within the walls of the terrible structure.

A gaping doorway greeted him, as icy cold winds swept his face and thunder sounded all around him. He dismounted the wyvern, landing soundly on his feet, preparing to walk straight into the supposed god, Ganondorf. He had dealings with gods before, but since his defeats, he needed to seek a more otherworldly power to aid him in his conquest. And this time he wouldn't settle for his own world alone.

He walked briskly through the opening which stood ten meters high, the building itself reaching well over thirty meters. Inside it was decaying, clearly having not a single soul to look after it in centuries. In the middle of the room, surrounded by the bones and rotted metal chains of prisoners long sentenced to die here, kneeled Ganondorf. His form was dimly lit by the torches which lined the walls, the flames dancing off piles of sand and tan-colored stones.

"I assume you're the one who released me from my bonds," said Ganondorf in his hoarse voice. He stood quickly from the floor and turned to face Ashnard. He was clad in armor similar to Ashnard's own, though it was bulkier and darker. He had a simple red cape which reached his feet behind him, and a jewel set in the middle of his twistedly evil dark face. He had red hair, finely kept for so daunting a man.

"Indeed, it was me," said the King. "You have no idea what trouble I've gone through to release a god such as yourself, my Lord." Ashnard played the part of the pawn for the time being, trying to sway Ganondorf into trusting him.

"Enough with your flattering," snapped Ganondorf. "I know a king when I see one. Before I kill you, here and now, tell me why I shouldn't. I don't have time to waste on you."

Ashnard was taken aback at the brutality of this evil god, no, demon. However, he was prepared to make him an offer that he wouldn't be willing to refuse, with the selective wisdom that the witch had left him with. "You seek revenge on a boy in green, do you not?"

Ganondorf's evil glare changed into a look of utmost curiosity. "You've saved your life for the time being. But I must ask, which one? There are so many which I wish to kill with my own hands, though I'm sure they've all passed on by now." Ashnard was utterly confused by his claim of 'which one.' Surely there couldn't be more of the same person?

"You don't seem to know how it works, do you?" asked Ganondorf at Ashnard's look of confusion. "I've said I have no time to waste with you, not while that wretched boy continues to grow in strength and power. I must kill him quickly this time, before he even has a chance to grab the Master Sword."

More confusion. Ashnard didn't understand. Did this demon really lose to more than one of the same person as he was making it seem? Exactly how immortal was he, to have been sealed away not once, but multiple times? Ashnard couldn't even comprehend the idea of dying even once.

"Out with it, what do you want with my power?" asked Ganondorf, temporarily dropping the subject of the boy in green.

"I-I want you to help me conquer my world," said Ashnard. "That's all. But, if all works out, I believe with my armies and your power, we could certainly conquer so much more than just our two worlds."

Ganondorf walked closer to Ashnard. "Hyrule is the only world which interests me. You help me take out the boy now, and I will lend my own power to you. You fail, you die by my hand." At these words, Ganondorf outstretched one of his gloved hands. Ashnard took it and immediately felt a dark power begin to surge through his entire frame, bringing on more pain than he had ever felt.

"There is a great potential I feel in you," sneered Ganondorf as Ashnard cried out in pain. "And there is a far worse punishment for you should you fail me. You say you know about my revenge, which means you certainly must know where I can find the boy. Go. Kill him while you still can. While he is still weak." The pain coursing through Ashnard's body suddenly ceased, and he felt strength return to his limbs. "He is the only thing standing between me and ultimate power."

Without another word, Ganondorf turned away from Ashnard to look into the nothingness of the temple. Ashnard took a bit to try and think about what he had just gotten himself into, and began to smile at the ease of his task at the hands of so powerful a demon. He walked out, beginning to laugh as he mounted his wyvern, ready to pursue a boy who was sleeping in a small town to the East.


	2. Two Heroes

**Just a response to a guest review from Linkcina: I'm not saying that's what's going to happen, but I'm also not saying that it's not. It depends entirely upon how well it fits into the story and by well it can flow with it… though all things considered neither Lucina nor Ike have canon spouses, so… there's that. MYSTERY!**

 **The rest of those of you who have started reading and stuff, thanks for taking notice! I always try to bring new stories into play rather than old ones. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Two Heroes**

"Link, you're so lazy!" a high pitched voice rang in Link's ears. "Get up!"

Link yawned heavily, trying place a pillow over his head to muffle the sound of Jixi the fairy's voice. She was always following him around, trying make sure he wouldn't mess up, even in the slightest degree. His action only made her yell louder as she hovered in her glowing light above him.

"LINK!" yelled Jixi. "If you don't hurry, all the good game will be taken!"

That's right, this was one of the last days of the hunting season, and Link hadn't exactly had a very profitable season. He actually did have to listen to Jixi this time. He grunted as he removed the pillow from over his head and sat up quickly. "I'm up, I'm up, you can shut up now," said Link tiredly.

"Hmph, that's no way to talk to a lady! Especially after she's trying to _help_ you!" sneered Jixi. "Geez, people say you were always such a great hunter, I have no idea how. You've barely caught any food for the entire Winter!"

"We have enough," said Link simply, walking from his bed to his drawer to get dressed.

"Enough to eat, yes, but enough to sell, not even close! How're you supposed to buy stuff?"

"Like?" asked Link, sincerely wondering what he could possibly need to buy in this small town.

"I dunno, like a slingshot… or something like that?" Jixi continued to pester Link as he dressed in his green hunting tunic and favorite cap. It was simple, yet effective. He lived in a treehouse big enough for him alone to live in. It was high enough off the ground that none of the meddlesome cuccos would be able to bother him.

"Whatever, you never know what you'll need out there, I'm just trying to look out for you!" said Jixi, trying to remind Link once again what she had promised him the day he saved her. That she would never stop helping him.

Link continued his morning routines in silence, trying to make sure he had everything he'd need to bag a particularly big catch. If he could just catch one deer, that would be enough to tie him over until the next season. Just a deer, that's all he'd need.

He ventured off into the town, trying to skip by all the locals so that he could get into the forest before the sun was too high. There would be others trying to get in on the hunt, and Link had to be sure that they wouldn't get in his way for this.

It was an oddly misty morning, one unlike most Link had ever seen. The sun hadn't completely breached the horizon, as it was the earliest he had gotten out of bed in a long time, thanks to Jixi's bothering.

He made no hesitation to reach the forest, armed only with a bow and a sling of arrows, and a long dagger he could use to cut up his game. It would be all he needed to catch a large buck, a simple shot above the deer's front legs would put it quickly out of commission.

Link noticed a few broken branches, and decided to follow wherever he could see it leading. There were small indents of the hooves of a large buck that were quite fresh beneath the underbrush. The mist as he delved deeper into the forest grew heavier. Link felt sweat begin to drip from his nose, odd for it wasn't hot, nor was he relatively tired. It was as if the air was condensing around him.

An hour passed, yet the tracks of the buck continued to bring Link farther into the forest than he felt entirely comfortable. If he were to catch it out there, the trips back and forth would be dreadful. He decided to turn back to see if there was anything he could find closer to town. Before he could, however, he heard the cracks of twigs in the distance.

"Link, lemme go check it out," whispered Jixi, flying a bit ahead to see if there was indeed a buck worth taking home. Link waited stiffly, drawing his bow and fitting an arrow in the string. It grew quieter, even the birds ceased their songs. The sun shone through the branches, illuminating small patches of underbrush, yet the mist was stronger than it had been in the morning.

Jixi floated back to where Link was sitting. "It's over there, alright, and it's a big one!" she whispered excitedly. Link walked nimbly through the trees where Jixi had just surveyed, making sure to keep himself hidden from sight. Surely enough, the large buck was grazing next to a solid oak tree. Link took aim and pulled the string, ready to let it fly.

A giant claw suddenly ripped through the mist and the trees, skewering the poor buck, causing it to howl in pain. Link let the arrow fly at the black claw, and immediately began to retreat back towards his village. "What in the world is that thing?" screamed Jixi as she followed Link through the trees. The mists around them only grew heavier, as a roar ripped through the air around them.

"A dragon?" asked Link, reminding Jixi that part of her job was to check these things out for him.

"Right, lemme just go and check real quick," said Jixi sarcastically. "I'm sure it's just dying to be my friend right about now."

Link ducked beneath a fallen tree, and continued his sprint towards the village. Then he realized that he couldn't return there. Not as long as this thing was left alive, chasing him. He turned around to face his enemy head on. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" shouted Jixi. Link strung an arrow on his bow and pointed it back towards where his enemy was coming from.

"Either you're incredibly brave," a dark voice reached his ears, "or incredibly stupid." Link looked for the source and heard the unsheathing of a blade from behind him. Instinctively he rolled forward to dodge whatever it was the source of the voice was going to attack him with.

Link turned with his arrow still being pulled and saw his attacker. He was middle aged, with dark blue hair cut somewhat close to his head, a small beard reaching to his chin. He was clothed in blue robes and heavy armor, a dauntingly jagged blade drawn in front of him. "Either way, your head will still look lovely to my lord, so just stay still while I cut you down, won't you? Wouldn't want my mount to take anything out on your silly little village now, would you?"

Link let his arrow fly, but was shocked by the agility with which the man was able to move his sword through the air to block the arrow. "Tch tch, so foolish of you. Just sit quietly, and no one else has to get hurt."

"You're the _foolish_ one if you think Link's gonna let you get away with this!" shouted Jixi at the man. "And as if we'd believe you have the dignity to leave our village alone once you're _through_ with us!" Link knelt to the ground in defeat. He knew the dragon-creature was waiting somewhere in the shadows, and clearly the man in front of him was more than capable of killing his entire village singlehandedly. If this was the only way, Link was willing to accept it. "Link, what're you doing?"

"He knows there's nothing he can do, that's all," said the man. "I'm Ashnard, King of Daein. I'm shocked that my god has had so much trouble with you over the years. It will be much easier to kill him once I've used his power than I expected, knowing his strength limit is you!" He walked to Link's crouching form, with his wretched blade hanging over him.

"What are you talking about?" asked Jixi, trying to stall for time.

"Oh it doesn't matter," said Ashnard, readying his blade to strike. Link heard a swift rustling in the trees behind him. "You won't be alive long enough to remember." Ashnard swung his sword down to cut Link clean in half, when suddenly, someone clothed in blue jumped in front of him and blocked the sword with their own.

"WHAT?!" shouted Ashnard, taking a few steps back to avoid the counterattack of his new enemy. The person had an impressive looking sword, long blue hair, and a royal blue tunic, with a short cape.

"Tell me! Are you the one who resurrected Grima?" shouted the newcomer, her voice sounding heavy with anger.

"What need would I have of the fell dragon?" scoffed Ashnard, posing to attack the girl. Just as he rushed forward to strike her, she turned and ran towards Link, reaching her hand out to him. Her face was surprisingly pretty.

"Come on, we have to get you out of here!" she shouted. "We've no time to lose, Caeda's already waiting for you." Link grabbed her hand without hesitation, standing to his feet quickly, proceeding to run away from the madman.

"What about the dragon?" shouted Jixi, clearly frightened out of her wits. "What are we going to do about that?"

"If it's the wyvern you're afraid of, my comrade should be taking care of that," said the girl. "I'll take care of him." She stopped as Link continued to run. Link didn't run far from her before stopping.

"What are you doing, she told us to run!" shouted Jixi. Again, Link wasn't sure if it was just him being foolhardy, but he wasn't about to just let a girl face an enemy like that alone. "Oh come on, she can handle it! She told us she could!"

Link shook his head at the fairy and ran back to the girl, stringing another arrow, however useless it seemed against Ashnard. When he reached the scene, the girl was matching the towering man blow for blow until she tripped on an overgrown root behind her. Link reacted instantly, letting an arrow fly swiftly at Ashnard.

Again, without missing a beat, Ashnard hit it away from him, laughing at Link's pitiful attempts to harm him. It did give the girl enough time to regain her footing, as she quickly thrust her sword at her attacker. Ashnard quickly used the force of his massive blade to hit the girl's away, sending it flying towards Link. It stabbed deep into the bark of a nearby tree.

Link immediately grabbed the sword and ran to protect the girl who had already saved him. "I thought I told you to get out of here!" she shouted. "I can handle this myself!"

Link ignored her comments and stood in between Ashnard and her, pointing the fine blade at the grinning madman. "This just keeps getting easier and easier for me," laughed Ashnard, swinging his blade at Link.

Link had never trained with a sword before, but somehow he was able to block the swing with the girl's blade, despite all of the crushing force behind it. He was relying solely on his instincts, and began to fight back, much to the king's dismay.

"You're not bad," said Ashnard, blocking each one of Link's attacks with surprising speed for a sword so large. "But you lack any kind of training whatsoever. I'm starting to see why you gave him such trouble." Ashnard quickly regained his hand on Link, as the girl watched helplessly from the sidelines, though the look on her face made it clear she was very displeased with Link.

Link knew that as far as this combat went, he was hopeless to come out on top, but he knew he couldn't leave the girl. Link blocked another attack on his left, and with his right hand he drew his dagger and lunged at Ashnard's leg, leaving a large gash through the robes, staining it with his blood. Immediately the trees behind him were crushed and his wyvern came roaring through to protect its master.

"Give that to me!" shouted the girl as she tore her sword away from Link. She grabbed his hand once again and pulled him into a run behind her.

"You better tell us what's going on!" shouted Jixi as they followed her through the forest.

"I don't have time to explain right now, we have to get you out of here, first," said the girl. Link noticed that she had a tiara-like crown on her head, and still grew intense curiosity for who this mysterious savior was.

"At least tell me your name," said Link, between breaths.

The girl looked behind her and smiled slightly. "I'm Lucina," she said, before turning her head back to the trees in front of them. "Caeda is waiting for you just around here. She'll take you from this point on, and don't worry about me this time, they're after you." They ran through a thicket of trees and what Link saw completely surprised him.

There was a girl with light armor over a red tunic, and long blue hair waiting beside a white horse. Only, the horse had massive wings folded like a bird's across its sides. Though the mists were still obscuring their vision, Link saw that the girl was extremely beautiful, but he tried not to focus on that at the moment. He was still confused as to why a horse had wings. "What is that?" asked Jixi insensitively.

"It's a pegasus," answered Lucina simply as they slowed their run to a brisk walk. "Caeda, this is the man our mysterious friend was talking about. We don't have time to lose."

"How is—?" started Caeda.

"I don't know, the wyvern was still rampaging in there," said Lucina, cutting her off, "but don't worry, he's been through much worse, hasn't he?" Caeda had a somewhat downtrodden look on her face upon hearing the news of the wyvern.

"Well, he has been through much worse, but he always had me at his side," said Caeda, grabbing Link's arm and pulling him over to the pegasus. "I suppose I'll just have to put my faith in him once again." She nudged Link to prompt him to get on the pegasus. "Well, hurry up! Get on!"

"Link won't move until you explain what's going on!" shouted Jixi, but Link waved her off.

"Jixi, we just have to trust them," said Link simply. Jixi grumbled to herself and flew into Link's hat to hide. Link had a fair amount of experience with riding horses, so he tried to mount it in such a way that it wouldn't irritate the pegasus's wings. Caeda and Lucina were continuing to have a hushed conversation away from them, which ended with Lucina nodding at Caeda and running back into the forest.

"Just make sure he's safe!" shouted Caeda after her. She ran to the pegasus and jumped on with such agility that it embarrassed Link. Before this, Link had been certain that he was one of the most capable men the entire village had to offer. Now he's been shown up by two girls. "Hold tight to me."

Link's face flushed as he tried to think about where to grab the beautiful girl sitting so close to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and was relieved when he heard no protest from her. "Hyah!" shouted Caeda as the horse kicked off and spread its massive wings and started flying. There was enough room in the canopy for the pegasus to make a clean flight through and out into the open air.

Link had never been so high in his entire life, and though the wind brushing through his hair was peaceful, he'd never felt so nervous before, but he refused to tighten his grip around the girl. "It's always very nerve wrecking," Caeda spoke up. "The first time you ride a pegasus." Link felt comforted in the knowledge that she was willing to talk to him.

"Who are you?" he asked. He felt like now was as good a time as any to get some answers, especially now that the mist wasn't so heavy around him.

"I'm Caeda," she replied cheerfully, "Princess of Talys. Well, soon-to-be queen of Altea, as well." Link was immediately intimidated, though he had never heard of any nations apart from Hyrule. "And don't feel foolish if you don't recognize the names of those countries. I'd be surprised if you had." Link was growing ever more concerned with this party he had gotten himself involved with and decided to remain silent until she felt open enough to tell him what was going on. The forest beneath turned into fields, and Link could see many cities all across the distance.

"We're going to meet someone who told us how important you are!" said Caeda, clearly trying to help Link feel more comfortable with her. "He didn't say much, but we figured if Grima was after you, then we had to help out." Again with the name Grima, some kind of 'fell dragon' as Ashnard had put it. Who was that?

Several minutes passed and they were flying over a forest once again. "Just in here, and you'll be told everything you want to know," said Caeda. "They call this place the Lost Woods, so we need to be careful once we get inside." Before they could begin their descent, a familiar roar echoed across the sky.

Link turned to see that Ashnard was hot in pursuit upon his wyvern, his deadly sword drawn, and a stream of blood dripping down his face. He immediately began to worry about what had happened to Lucina. "Hold on tight!" shouted Caeda as the pegasus jerked in the air and turned about to face Ashnard's advance. She pulled the lance from off of her back and pointed it directly at Ashnard.

Link gripped tighter around her as they got closer to the intimidating foe. Ashnard swung high, but Caeda was able to cause her pegasus to descend and ascend quickly enough that they were able to dodge and Caeda dug her lance in one of the wyvern's hind legs, a roar piercing the sky in pain. They turned again in the air to face the retreating wyvern.

Sat behind Ashnard, however, there was a woman. She was dressed in all black to match her black hair, but she was one of the most incredibly stunning women Link had ever seen in his short life. "Looks like he has himself a sorceress," said Caeda, her voice shaking. "Knew I should've taken magic defense lessons more seriously." A burst of fire exploded from the woman's outstretched hand, but Caeda was able to maneuver her pegasus enough to dodge the first ball of flames.

The second ball, however, made direct contact with Caeda and she was flung from her saddle. Link grabbed her hand as the pegasus started to fly out of control, rocking Link more than he thought was possible. She wasn't heavy, but the effort to gain balance and hold onto her was too much, and he slid off of the pegasus's back with her.

Link refused to let go of her hand as they began to whistle towards the trees. In the distance Link could see two horses with riders coming from the forest he called home. Caeda's mouth was moving, but the wind was too loud in his ears to hear what she was saying, but the tears streaming up from her eyes and the smile was enough to tell him there was still hope. _Hope for what?_ he thought. _We're dead._

They passed through the trees flying fast, but before they made contact with the ground, a triangle on the back of Link's left hand began to glow brighter than the sun. Suddenly their rapid descent was slowed almost to a halt until they made soft contact with the ground. Link looked at Caeda, who had apparently passed out during their fall.

Some of her clothes were singed behind her armor, and she had burns all over where the fire had gotten her. _Water_ , thought Link. He had been deep in forests plenty of times, and finding water was something he had no real problem doing. Though, as Caeda had said, these were the Lost Woods. Link had heard stories of even the best navigators getting lost in here forever.

A roar far in the distance told Link that Ashnard believed him to be dead and was flying away. The triangle which had shone on the back of his hand had faded as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him to wonder exactly what had happened. He also began to wonder about the two horse riders pursuing them from his home. _It just has to be her_ , he thought to himself. _Lucina._


	3. Reunited Lovers

**Chapter 2: Reunited Lovers**

Caeda was now resting in a makeshift shelter Link had built out of fallen branches and vines he found around the ground in the Lost Woods. He'd thoroughly studied wild plant life, but he couldn't find anything that would help him treat her wounds. He built the shelter next to a small river, periodically trying to treat her burns with the water, but she still refused to wake up.

Link had tried several times to try and find a path of some kind, but every time he did, he'd end up right back where Caeda's shelter was, despite the fact that he even made sure to mark where he went to avoid walking in circles. It seemed almost like a curse on in these Woods that prevented him from getting anywhere. He was just happy it would bring him back to Caeda. He wasn't comfortable with the idea that he could leave and not find her again, so he decided to wait until she awoke before he would go anywhere else. If there actually was anywhere else to go.

Link sat still, kindling a small fire that he took some time to make to keep himself warm. His tunic was also burnt in places, but not as much as Caeda's own. She was lying in the shelter, covered by naught but the tunic she had. Link had taken her armor off of her so that she could be more comfortable.

The fire cracked, and Link heard Caeda grunt in a weak, timid voice. He stood and rushed to her shelter, and was pleasantly surprised to see her sitting up, rubbing her head. He at least suspected that she was going to be bedridden for a few days, but she seemed completely fine apart from the burns, which seemed to be going away rather quickly for how serious they were.

"Hey!" shouted Jixi excitedly. "Omigosh, I'm so glad you're okay!" She fluttered around Caeda's head, making her giggle.

"Yeah," said Link awkwardly, "but how? I thought those burns were more…" Link stopped as Caeda uncorked a small bottle of a yellow liquid and gulped the entire thing. Her burns became even less pronounced than just seconds earlier.

"Ahhh, nothing like a good vulnerary to pick me up," sighed Caeda, tossing the empty bottle aside. "Too bad it was my last one, these burns still hurt like crazy, but I can manage with this." Link stood gaping at what he'd just seen. Only an hour before, she was unconscious, covered from head to toe in serious burns, but now she was completely fine, only small burn marks remaining beneath her singed clothes.

"What was that?!" shouted Jixi excitedly. "That was so cool!"

"What, you guys don't have vulneraries?" asked Caeda incredulously. "How do you get better after a serious fight? Come on, I know this place has to have something like that, you just don't know yet." She motioned for Link to get out of the shelter so that she could follow him out.

The two of them stood up, and Link observed the forest to make sure there was no one or thing watching them. "Where's my armor?" asked Caeda, as soon as she realized he'd taken it off. Link pointed to the light armor hanging from a tree branch close to the ground. "Oh, great, now there's gonna be sap all over it. Don't you know it's pretty creepy to take a girl's armor off while she's knocked out?" Link flushed red, and averted his eyes from her as she giggled.

"He only did it so you could feel comfortable, we didn't know you'd be able to get out of bed so soon!" said Jixi, trying to defend Link.

"I'm only joking, it was sweet of him to do that," remarked Caeda. "Where are the others?"

Link paused for a minute and looked back at Caeda, who was fitting her armor about her. "You mean Lucina?" he asked, remembering that there were two horse riders pursuing them from his home.

"Heh, yes Lucina," chuckled Caeda. "And the other man, too." She walked towards the river and began to look around it. "Isn't there any water that isn't running so I can see myself clearly?"

 _She cares about what she looks like at a time like this?_ thought Link. _What's she on about?_ "Yeah, just up a little way," he said. She walked up to where a small pond sat beside the river.

"All my clothes are wet, too; did you try and treat my burns?" asked Caeda as she beckoned for Link to follow her. He quickly tried to stamp out the fire, knowing that they weren't likely to come back to this place unless they were still affected by the curse. He picked up his bow and quiver of arrows, along with his small bag full of small strings he could use to set traps. He'd kept his dagger on his person.

"I didn't know about vulneraries," said Link, trying to ease up around her. She was beautiful, but something told Link that she was off-limits for some reason. He followed her to where she was trying to straighten her currently wild hair while observing her reflection in the small pond. "And I don't know where they are, we've been in here for all of the afternoon."

"Figures, he's always kept me waiting," said Caeda, pulling small twigs which had somehow managed to get tangled in her hair.

"I'm sorry," started Jixi, "but exactly who is _he_?"

"I think she's talking about me."

Link jumped back immediately drawing his bow and pointing it at the source of the calm voice. A man roughly Link's own height stood a few meters away with Lucina, both of them with slightly ripped and charred clothing. It was apparent that they'd both taken vulneraries to recover from wounds, given there weren't any even under the torn parts of their clothing.

For the first time, Link had a good look at Lucina. She was about a head shorter than him, and her blue hair reached to the middle of her back. It wasn't as well-kept as Caeda's, but on her it looked great. She had fair skin, and her eyes were a deep blue, though in her left eye there were strange markings Link couldn't distinguish clearly. On her head was a tiara-like crown, and even though she didn't wear much makeup like Caeda, she was just as pretty. She was also quite thin, impressive for someone like her, who was clearly a very capable warrior.

The man who stood beside her bore a striking resemblance to her, though he was more masculine and his hair was about as long as Link's own, but it was groomed as if to perfection. The blueness of his own matched perfectly with Lucina's. He had a sturdy build, and his royal blue robes and tiara-like crown meant he was a prince. In fact, his entire being exemplified everything Link imagined a prince would look. An impressive, dragon-like sword hung at his side.

"Marth!" exclaimed Caeda exuberantly, running to meet him in an embrace. She began to kiss him, which made Link feel a bit uncomfortable, though it ended quickly. She broke away from him and looked at Link sheepishly. "O-oh, sorry, I forgot to mention, this is Prince Marth. He's my fiancé!"

"Your WHAT?" exclaimed Jixi disbelievingly. Link was intrigued at her surprise; it seemed almost obvious to him that she was spoken for.

"You heard her right," said Marth calmly, walking towards Link with an outstretched hand. "Like she said, I'm Marth, Prince of Altea. I saw you two fall from the pegasus, and I was worried sick." Link took his hand and shook it, noting the firmness of his grip being in line with his character. Marth looked back to his fiancé now embracing Lucina, who looked a bit uncomfortable to be treated such. "Speaking of which, how did you two survive? You look awful," Marth said sincerely.

"I…" started Caeda, flushing red with anger at his insensitivity. "I have no idea, the last thing I remembered was seeing you guys racing towards us. I blacked out after that." Marth turned back to face Link, as Caeda walked to him and punched his arm. Lucina also walked towards them, though she stood a bit away from them when she stopped. "How did we survive that fall—erm—L…?"

"Link," spoke up Lucina for the first time since their arrival.

"Right!" exclaimed Caeda. "Sorry, I only heard the guy say your name once. Anyways, how did we survive?"

Link remembered the glowing triangle that appeared on the back of his hand when he and Caeda miraculously slowed down. "There was a bright light, and we just slowed down," he answered simply. Lucina strode quickly to Link, which made him take a step back. He knew what she was capable of with that sword which hung on her belt.

"Where did the light come from, exactly?" she asked, taking a keen look at him. Link noticed that she had a very pleasant smell coming from her, surprising for one who seemed as serious as she did. She took his left hand, which was covered in a leather gauntlet, and eyed it suspiciously.

"Um, from that hand," said Link, feeling slightly nervous at her touch.

"Then it's exactly as that weird sorcerer said," remarked Lucina, letting Link's hand drop back to his side, though she didn't take any step away from him. "Which means we definitely have the right guy."

"Whaddyou mean by that?" asked Jixi, flying to hover in front of Lucina's face. Lucina's eyes widened as the fairy's light illuminated her features.

"S-so pretty!" she let slip carelessly. She covered her mouth and shook her head as she tried to regain some of her lost composure. "S-sorry. Agh, I think you can explain, Hero-King." She slumped next to a tree and sat against it, looking rather embarrassed at her outburst of admiration at the fairy. Link chuckled slightly, finding it funny that a warrior such as herself could be girly.

Marth sighed at the apparent title that he had been given by Lucina. "Is that really what they call me in your time?" he said. "And yet nothing about Caeda?" He sounded surprisingly annoyed about such a great title being applied to himself yet not to his beloved. Link was also a bit confused by what Marth meant when he said 'your time.' "Eh, it's fine. I suppose you're wondering why we're here, aren't you?"

"Of course we are! We were just trying to find stuff to eat when you weirdos showed up!" exclaimed Jixi.

"Well, as it happens, we're about as surprised about this as you are. I thought all the trouble in the world had ended when I finally stopped Medeus, but as fate has it, here we are," said Marth. "I can't tell you much right now, because even I don't understand all of it, but…" He looked expectantly at Lucina who was still sitting against the tree.

"My father and I managed to kill a fell dragon named Grima," she said. "But about a year after we defeated the dragon, a… sorcerer, or diviner, or whatever he claims to be… he came and showed me a vision of the same dragon coming after a boy in green with a golden triangle on the back of his hand.

"Without an explanation, I found myself here, in the Lost Woods, with Marth and Caeda. Then the dastard appeared and told us to bring the boy I'd seen in the vision to a temple in the middle of these woods and then he'd explain to us what we're doing here. He told us where your village was, and thank the gods that we arrived when we did. I don't know as well as you what we're all doing here, Hero-King." Lucina remained seated, holding onto her knees.

"That's basically the same story as mine, except Caeda came with me, and there was no mention of any Grima. He only brought us here and told us we had to bring you to him," Marth said. "And for the last time, could you at least call me by my name? I know you're from the future of my world, but I think we've reached that point."

"It just feels weird," replied Lucina simply. Clearly there was something she didn't want to tell Marth, though she apparently respected him greatly. "Anyways," Lucina started as she stood up, brushing the dirt from her rear, "I don't know if the man's intentions with you are honorable, but we're going to bring you there just the same. And stop him if we have to. Any man with as much power as he seems to have is dangerous. He's disrupted time and reality to bring us all here, and I don't like the idea of him roaming around unchecked."

"And the same goes for us," piped up Caeda. "No matter what, I can't feel okay until we know what's going on. Until I know my prince is safe…" Her grip tightened around Marth's arm as he rolled his eyes.

Link looked at the three of them with utter confusion. He didn't even know what to say to all of them, but he didn't have any room to doubt them after all they'd gone through to save him from Ashnard. "It's getting dark," Link said, trying to avoid having to go further into their observations.

"We've had absolutely no luck in finding anything here, anyways," said Jixi. "Every time we leave we just end up by the river again. Better that we rest and eat now, so if we do find that temple, we can be prepared."

"Great, you have something to eat?" Marth exclaimed. "I'm starving, haven't eaten anything all day!" Link shifted uncomfortably. While he was searching for a road, he did manage to catch a small rabbit and snag a few berries for when Caeda woke up, but it wasn't nearly enough to feed all four of them.

"As long as it's not bear meat," sighed Lucina, walking to where Link's recently extinguished fire was still smoldering. "I'll get this fire going while you boys prepare the meat for cooking. Caeda, I assume you can make shelters?" Lucina gestured to the small shelter Link had prepared for her earlier.

"Actually, that was Link. But I think I can do fine," said Caeda, hurrying over to where Lucina was nudging the coals.

Marth stayed by Link, studying him almost as intently as Lucina had. The two of them looked extremely similar, as if they were related. "I'm guessing you don't have enough of whatever it is to feed all of us, right?" Even though they were roughly the same height, Marth seemed taller than him. Link nodded and motioned for him to follow him into the woods. "We'll be back; we're just going to catch some more meat!"

"Be safe!" shouted Caeda back to him.

Link walked back to where he had shot the rabbit. He'd actually set a few traps in the same area, as he'd been planning on staying there with Caeda for a few days while she recovered. Hopefully he had an early catch.

"So how long have you known Caeda?" Jixi broke the silence of the walk. The sun continued to set lower in the sky, the light shining through the canopy becoming orange and the air cooling around them.

"Ever since we were kids," said Marth, happily recounting his history with his fiancé. "We've been through hell together, that's for sure. As soon as I regained my kingdom, the first thing I did was propose. Didn't take long for us to get into more serious danger, though. Our wedding was supposed to be a week from today, after being delayed so often."

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Jixi honestly, flying next to Marth. "And as you can see, my friend Link here doesn't talk too much, I do most of it for him! So if you have any questions you can feel free to ask me!"

"I see, not so much the talking type, are you?" remarked Marth. "I've known plenty of great warriors like that. I heard from Lucina that you handled the Falchion quite well, an impressive feat for one who's had no training. In fact, she said you did so well, if you actually had the ability to truly wield the blade, you'd have been able to hold your own against Ashnard and his wyvern."

"Truly wield?" questioned Link.

"You see, only those of the royal bloodline of Anri can use the Falchion properly," said Marth, as they continued towards the traps. "You couldn't possibly have used the sword to its full potential, unless there's something very shocking you aren't telling us. Perhaps we need to find you your own legendary sword to do battle with, eh?" Even though he was mostly kidding, Link could tell there was a note of seriousness in Marth's voice.

"So that sword you have there?" asked Link, pointing to Marth's sword dangling from his belt.

"Well, it may not look it, but it's actually the same sword Lucina is holding," said Marth, unsheathing it to show Link. "Clearly it went through some changes over the years, but this is the one and only Falchion. Heh, she acts like I don't already know, but Lucina is actually one of my descendants far down the line. There's no other way she could use my sword unless she was."

"Yeah, about that whole time, future, thing," started Jixi, "what's that all about? You say that Lucina is your descendant? That's your sword she's holding? Then why aren't you like super old or anything?"

"I don't know," said Marth, shaking his head. "We've been pulled out of different times in the same world. That's what has me so worried about this sorcerer. If he has that kind of power, what else is he going to do with it?" Link continued to walk in front of Marth until they arrived at his traps. Luckily there were two rabbits caught in them. One was rather plump, the other was quite thin. It would be enough, if they continued to take more berries from the plants around them.

"Either way, what are you thinking of Lucina?" asked Marth suddenly, untying the thin rabbit from its trap and ending its life. "She's quite pretty, isn't she?"

"I noticed," he said simply, ending the life of the plump rabbit. He tried to hide his slight grin as he thought of Lucina's silly outburst at the fairy's aesthetic. He didn't want to give Marth anything that he could use against him.

"I think you noticed more than just that," chuckled Marth, holding up the rabbit by its legs. "Let's take these back, but I don't think it'll be enough to fill us all."

"There's actually another fat one back at camp that we caught earlier," said Jixi, still hovering around Marth's head. She seemed to take a liking to the prince. "We should be just fine if we get some berries!"

Link and Marth trekked back to the camp to find that Caeda had put together two more shelters, one much bigger than the other two clearly meant for her and Marth. They were somewhat crude, but they would be good enough to keep them covered from the winds and the bugs.

Link prepared the rabbits and Caeda cooked them over the open fire which Lucina had brought back to life. They ate enough until they were all satisfied and the bones of the rabbits were buried far away from the camp to keep wild animals away. Link retired to the small shelter that Caeda had made, and allowed Lucina to take the one he'd prepared for Caeda earlier.

Link couldn't keep his eyes closed for once in his life as he tried to drift off to sleep as he normally did. He shifted constantly trying to get comfortable, but the thoughts of the wyvern king and his sorceress continued to plague his mind until he decided to try and catch some air outside. He made sure not to disturb Jixi's resting body as he quietly slipped on his boots and walked outside.

The fire was still going, which surprised him. He'd thought that all the others had gone to bed, but Lucina was still prodding it with a short branch. "Someone has to keep watch," she said at his inquiring gaze. "For all we know, that evil king is still looking for you." She didn't avert her eyes from the flames.

"He flew away after we fell," started Link. "I don't think we have to worry about him anymore for now." He walked to one of the rocks that had been placed around the fire earlier and sat on it, however uncomfortable it was.

"Either way, better to be safe than sorry," said Lucina, looking up at him. She gave him that same small grin that she had when she first introduced herself after he tried to rescue her from Ashnard. "I never got a chance to thank you for coming back for me. Even though I clearly had it under control."

"Clearly," chuckled Link. He felt a small rock hit his forehead, and he looked up to see Lucina holding another small pebble in her fingers.

"…Thank you," she finally said, dropping the pebble. "You can go back to bed now. I'm fine taking watch for the night."

"Can't sleep," said Link, trying to make himself tired by staring into the flames.

"I don't think any of us can. I doubt Marth and Caeda are sleeping in there. They were supposed to be married next week, now their lives are in danger once again. They're probably just talking like we are."

"He knows," said Link, looking up at Lucina. "About how you two are related somehow."

"So is that what you two talked about out there?" asked Lucina with curiosity. "I figured he did, what with the Falchion and everything. But I didn't want to be the one to bring it up, and I'm guessing neither did he."

Link shifted uncomfortably on the rock. "I can take the watch if you want," he said.

"I can't sleep," said Lucina. "I know I need my strength, but that's just it. When my eyes grow tired, I'll go to my shelter and you can stay up."

Link nodded at her and the two of them sat in silence, both trying to contemplate the future and what it held for them. Earlier that day, the only thing Link had been worried about was whether or not he'd have enough food to survive the Winter. Now he was worried if he could survive another night in the woods surrounded by complete strangers from different worlds.


	4. The Radiant Hero

**Hey, there, everybody! I appreciate the reviews and I'll take my liberty to reply to some of them right here.**

 **Link99: Well, this chapter is actually about Zelda and what she's been up to lately. Now, it is a good idea, but it's still a bit early for that, and I had a different idea for how to get into more of what Link's party is doing. Lucina, while she has taken a liking to Link, doesn't entirely trust him yet. She is willing to give him a chance, yet she doesn't want to let her guard down around him just yet.**

 **Linkcina: That was in the plans. Marth and Link are going to be training regularly, but expect to see more Link and Lucina develop that way as well. Because remember, she's just as skilled, if not more so, than the Hero King.**

 **A note to all readers. When you reach the line "Just as her hope faded," take an opportunity and start playing Eternal Bond from Radiant Dawn. Makes it better.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Radiant Hero**

Zelda looked from her balcony, seeing the dark fields of Hyrule which surrounded her castle that very evening. Countless guards stood around the castle itself, poised to defend it with their lives. The winds which whipped around her blonde hair were cold and befitting of the sorrow she felt as report after report of an unknown kingdom came to her pointed ears; reports came in constantly that a kingdom by the name of Daein had invaded Hyrule and was conquering the land piece by enormous piece.

"Princess," a voice of an older woman sounded from inside her room behind her. "I'm here to protect you as long as you need me to." Zelda turned from the field and looked at her attendant. She had long white hair, slight wrinkles surrounding her blood-red eyes, and traditional Sheikah markings tattooed in places across her lightly armored body. Though she only carried but one dagger that was visible, Zelda knew she had hidden weapons stashed all throughout her tight blue clothing.

"Are you sure I'm the one who needs protecting?" asked Zelda, thinking of the rest of her kingdom. "What about my people? Our land?" She walked back into her room, which was extremely ornate and decorative, fitting for a Princess of her status. She felt for the rapier at her side.

"I'm sorry, but it is far too late for that," answered Impa, standing resolutely firm as Zelda paced her bedroom. "The enemy came with forces far larger than we've ever seen in Hyrule's history, and there are but few lands remaining which haven't been conquered, including where we stand now. Only a week, and we've been brought as low as when the demon king reigned over Hyrule."

"I know there must be something we can still do," sighed Zelda. "You don't think—?"

"I do. There is no doubt Ganondorf has returned. Our small army is no match for his seemingly endless forces, all claiming to hail from this 'Daein.'"

"They're coming for me."

"I'm aware of that," said Impa, walking to Zelda's wardrobe and opening it swiftly. She reached inside and pulled an ornate breastplate from within, handing it to Zelda. "You can't walk away from here with naught but your dress." She reluctantly placed it on, tightening the straps so that she could barely feel it resting on her.

"Are you ready to flee?"

Zelda nodded at her faithful attendant, taking a long cloak to conceal her identity from any onlookers. She had more than just a simple desire to stay with her people, but she held the Triforce of Wisdom, and she knew it was more important for her to keep that sacred triangle safe than anything else. The latest reports informed them that the largest army of enemy soldiers were inbound as they spoke, and they had already readied the horses for Zelda's escape.

"Do you think he'll come again?" asked Zelda, as Impa opened the door into the castle for her. "The Hero of Time?"

"He's come many times over Hyrule's long history. He'll come again."

Zelda and Impa walked through the castle, which was full of all of Hyrule's most elite guards, all shaking somewhat with fear, for they had all heard the rumors that the largest army they'd ever seen was on their way. Zelda had been somewhat a practitioner of magic, and as such she attempted to place charms on her soldiers as she passed by them. It had little effect, but many of them seemed to at least stop shaking when the magic took effect.

"We'll make for Faron Woods," said Impa when they reached the royal stables. "As of yet, the enemy seems to have taken no interest in the place. Not to mention…"

Zelda understood what Impa meant without her having to speak it. Faron Woods was home to farmers and peasants alike, but more than that, it was the secret resting place of the legendary blade within the ruins of the Temple of Time. If they were going to find the Hero of Legend, it would certainly help to start there.

Zelda's white horse stood waiting within her stable. A loyal horse bred specifically for the Princess in case of such dire needs as escape or battle, she was strong and firm, not to mention one of the fastest in the Kingdom. She was quickly saddled and ushered from her stable with care by the Princess, following the large carrots in her hands.

Sitting atop the white horse, Zelda rode from the stables. Impa followed on a chestnut brown horse, not nearly as special as Zelda's own, but reliable all the same. In the streets the people continued as if there was nothing wrong in the world. They were unaware of the dire situation at hand, and Zelda felt guilt surging through her body, thinking of how doomed they all were. She prayed to the goddesses that the enemy would have mercy on the people, but felt hopeless in her own faith.

Slowly they rode until they reached the castle gates, which were closed and the drawbridge lifted as it always was when the evening approached. Impa leapt from her horse and walked swiftly to the gate guards. They had on typical Hyrulean armor, over a layer of chainmail on a blue tunic. Their helmets hid their faces from view.

"Lady Impa, what brings you to the gates?" asked the guard. Only the privileged few elites were informed of Zelda's fleeing. "The Princess needs you back at the castle, I'm sure." All of the troops were well informed of the impending invasion, and an official announcement from the King of Hyrule would be made shortly for the citizens. The guard who addressed Impa looked at Zelda, sitting in her cloak atop the white horse, though it was impossible to hide her beauty.

"I…"

"That is all you need to know of the situation," Impa interrupted before he could make the claim that it was Zelda. "Now you will open this gate, and let us pass, soldier." Without hesitation, the soldier quickly ran to the operators, and the gates creaked open. A clanking sound followed as the drawbridge fell rapidly to connect them to the land.

"Thank you!" shouted Zelda as she prodded her horse into a run. Noting the mote and enormous walls surrounding the city, she knew that it would be a well-fought battle, in which the enemy forces would be severely damaged. Certainly they would have to lay siege for days before the walls would fall and the moat filled in.

As they rode across the bridge, she saw that the moon had begun its ascent into the clouded sky. It was barely visible, but its faint light gave its position away. Zelda swung the reigns and prodded the horse to turn its pursuit towards the South, headed towards Faron Woods. There were several forests over the lands of Hyrule, but none were as vast as Faron. It was also relatively close to Hyrule Castle as compared to the Lost Woods which were set to the West of Faron.

A few minutes of riding through the cold air passed, and a slight drizzle settled over Zelda and Impa, who continued on without speaking. The terrain began to grow more challenging to maneuver, with small rivers and streams surrounded by rocks beginning to appear everywhere.

Zelda looked up into the sky as thunders began to sound in the distance. The sky was dark, but the flashes of the lightning illuminated flying creatures high above them. She grew intensely curious as to what those creatures could've been, but was filled with horror when she realized the direction they were headed.

"Impa, what are those?!" she shouted over the thunder.

"I… I don't know, Princess," replied Impa in a yell. "They look like dragons, though not as fiery or intimidating." Zelda was plenty intimidated by their bat-like wings beating through the rains. "We must take shelter soon; we won't make it to Faron when these conditions get worse!"

Zelda acknowledged that it was indeed getting worse, but she couldn't tear her mind away from the figures above her. There were dozens of them, and if they truly were enemies, the castle would have no defense against them. As if reading her mind, Impa shouted, "We cannot go back, Princess. If we do, the Triforce will surely fall into their grasp, much sooner than we'd thought!"

Against her will to fight for her kingdom, Zelda continued to ride on through the darkness. "We make for Kakariko, then." She was aware that Kakariko was occupied by the enemy, but she was confident that the enemy had no way to recognize her. It was the closest town that might've been somewhat safe.

She veered her horse off the straight course to Faron Woods and aimed for the small city of Kakariko. It was slightly to the West of Castle Town, and would not take long to reach. Impa made no protest at their destination and followed her.

Zelda's blood felt chilled by her own abandonment of her people, and disgrace filled her heart. As the royal family's heir, she couldn't believe her requirement to run. If it had been her choice, she would've confided the Triforce of Wisdom to Impa and had her flee, but as fate had it, that was impossible.

Zelda dismounted her horse a small distance away from Kakariko's main entrance. The horse itself would attract her unwanted attention, and she wished desperately for a way to conceal her face, as her own beauty would attract it as well. She tied the faithful horse to the signpost which plainly read "Kakariko ahead," and continued her walk to reach the village.

"Keep your hood up, and your head down low," said Impa. The drizzle had turned into a heavier rain, starting make their clothing wet. Impa herself had used a secret Sheikah art to conceal her identity, though it was only visible to those Impa desired to be fooled. To Zelda, she looked the same as always, but to an unknowing onlooker, she'd appear to be an old woman, relying on a cane to walk.

They walked casually into the small village of Kakariko, Zelda doing as Impa told her and keeping the hood up. The usually bustling town was dead as could be. The enemy soldiers were all clad in different arrays of armor and clothing depending upon which weapons and armors they specialized in.

Zelda looked around, for any sign or tell of an inn, and was able to find a scraggly little hub, guarded by two swordsmen, that fit the bill perfectly: out of the way, and capable of housing the two for the night. She walked subtly towards the small hub, and approached the guards, who looked stupid, yet they were clearly not to be trifled with.

"I seek residence here tonight, if you please," said Zelda politely. This was her first mistake.

One of the men looked at her keenly underneath her hood. She resisted the urge to turn her face away from him, however terribly his breath smelt. "You some kinda royalty or summat?" he said in a nasally voice. "Oy, Gober, what was it the King said about royalty?"

"You dumb bastard," said the other swordsmen, though his voice was gargled. "He said to keep our eyes open for royalty and such." One of his rugged hands grasped Zelda's arm, and she felt herself be pulled toward him. His beady eyes looked over her face. "But I don' think tha's what we 'ave here…" An evil grin spread across his face. Within her cloak, Zelda could feel her rapier hanging on her belt, and prayed that she would have no need to use it.

"Le's take this lass out for a stroll, shall we?" the beady-eyed man sneered. "She looks to be a bit cold in this here rain." Zelda felt his grip grow tighter around her arm, and resigned herself to go with him. He was no real threat to her if she could use her magic, and if he got her alone, she'd be fine.

Impa made no move to reveal herself, knowing that Zelda was capable of handling herself. Still her eyes had a stern look, and Zelda nodded at her to reassure her. Zelda walked away while the man dragged her to where she thought would be a secluded place where she could use her magic. As soon as they were out of earshot of Impa, however, the man spoke without the gargled voice this time. "You're coming with me, Princess. Didn't think I'd find you on my watch, but I'm damned lucky I did." His voice was cool and easy, and Zelda felt petrified at his touch.

"My mate there is as thick as bricks," he continued, as Zelda felt herself be forced to move with him. "I've studied the darkest of magics, so I know a thing or two about secrecy and detection. Your ol' lady there isn't hiding anything from me, that's why I had to get you away from her. Next time you want to conceal yourself, try not to speak so stingily. Even my dolt of a companion figured something unnatural."

"Where are you taking me?" questioned Zelda, though she could feel that a mysterious power kept her voice from rising too high. Her body continued to move on its own. She knew this was because the fiend had direct contact with her. If she could just get her arm away from his hand, she could regain control.

"There's a high price on anyone royal here," said the mysterious dark mage. His ugly face was mangled beyond repair, probably due to some failed experiment. It made him appear to be more of a thug than any kind of intelligent man. "I'm taking you to my general. He'll take you from there. As long as I get my pay, I don't care." Zelda struggled to resist and move her arm, but her efforts were pointless. She hoped that Impa would figure it out and follow her soon.

"Right up here," said the man. "He's in this small house, just resting up from the day. Oh, you'll like him, nobody even knows what he looks like underneath all of his armor. So mysterious." The house was dainty and weak, some of the tiles from the roof hanging lazily off the sides. Zelda tried to swallow the lump that had grown in her throat as she was taken inside.

"Yes?" a dark voice sounded, muffled by an apparatus. The room was just as dainty as the house looked from the outside. Zelda was shocked by the massive knight who stood in front of her. He was covered from head to toe in thick, black armor, a red cape reaching his ankles. A dangerous longsword hung from his side, and Zelda felt doomed just standing in his presence.

"Royalty," said the thug without breaking his grasp on her. "Thought she could sneak in without being noticed. Almost pulled it off, too." The Black Knight walked towards Zelda, peering at her through his helmet. She couldn't see anything past the shadows of his helmet.

"Leave us," he said simply. "I'll take her from here."

"But sir!"

"Do I need to ask again?"

The man loosened his grip on Zelda's arm and retreated from the house. She felt the ability to control herself immediately return to her, and took a few deep breaths to ensure that she could. "You must be Zelda."

"…"

Zelda refused to speak to her captor. She reached within her cloak and drew her rapier, infusing it with magic and lunging at him. He made no attempt to defend himself or even dodge the attack. As soon as the tip made contact with his armor, however, Zelda felt the pressure grow immense as if hitting a steel wall, and the rapier bent and snapped in half, falling uselessly to the ground. Following the sword stroke, she tried to shoot a stream of fire, but in the same effect he made no movements nor sounds of pain. Zelda was dumbfounded at this knight's terrifying resistance.

"Are you finished?" he asked beneath his helmet.

"…yes," she said after resigning herself to his custody. "What do you want with me?"

"I think you know what our Lord wants with you," said the Black Knight, taking Zelda's right hand and observing it. "Supposedly you carry a sacred power with you." Without another word, he dragged her from the dainty house back into the rain, which was now pouring.

Impa was only feet away with her dagger drawn in an attack position, her stance unreadable. She leaped up and brought the small blade down towards the enemy, but like Zelda's rapier before, the dagger broke against the Knight's armor. How could someone even walk with an armor made of whatever it was?

The Black Knight didn't even draw his sword. Impa landed in front of him, though she was off-balanced from the previous strike and threw a shuriken directly at his face, but once again it made no effect but a pinging sound. He swept his right arm in front of him and knocked Impa pathetically to the ground at his right.

Zelda was under no spell this time, simply trapped in the Knight's incredible grip around her right arm. At this pace, it would be morning by the time they reached the castle. The Knight seemed to be in no hurry. _Over already?_ thought Zelda. _I thought we stood a chance, but this simply isn't fair._

Just as her hope faded, Zelda heard a shout in the rain. She couldn't make out what the voice was shouting, but she felt comfort in the very voice itself. Before she could react, she was thrown to the ground by the Knight, who rapidly drew his massive longsword and turned to defend himself from an aerial attack. A man with a golden longsword appeared above him and their swords clanged loudly. The man jumped back and swung his sword out in front of him in a challenge.

"So you've followed us here!" shouted the Black Knight in a rage.

The man had blue hair, with a black bandana wrapped beneath it over his handsome face. He was wearing light armor and most of his clothing was blue, albeit he had a flowing red cape. The best description Zelda could think was that the man was the image of a hero, bravery shining in his eyes, clear through the rain.

"You won't get away from me again!" shouted the hero, taking a stance of attack. Zelda was surprised with the ease at which the man was able to hold the massive longsword in his outstretched hand. His composure was intimidating to say the least.

Impa was already at Zelda's side, holding onto her as she was splattered in the mud from the ground. "I think we may have found our hero." Zelda looked at the man who had so much courage in his eyes, believing the words of Impa without question.

The Black Knight charged at him with his sword to his side. The blue-haired man blocked the side-swing with ease, kicking him back to gain some distance. The size of the swords kept the battle at a distance as the two continued to match blows. Zelda stood up with Impa and the two looked on at the fight. If anything a blade of the hero's own size would be able to cut through that armor.

"Ike!" shouted a female voice from behind Zelda. She looked behind her and saw a young girl with auburn hair running towards the battle, though she didn't engage with them. "We don't have time for this! We have to grab her and go!" The fury in Ike's eyes as his blade was blocked in an overhead swing was obvious. He hated the man in the armor.

"You can go!" shouted Ike, jumping away from the Black Knight. "I'll take care of him."

"No!" shouted the girl. "Ike, I know he has to pay for what he's done, but our route has been blocked off! They knew we were coming!"

"Mist!" shouted Ike in fury. He looked in Zelda's direction, though Mist stood in front of them. The rage in his eyes faded, and he looked back at the Black Knight. Enemy soldiers immediately started to surround them. "We'll finish this another time." He charged at the Knight and took a swing, but it was also blocked. He passed him and continued to run towards Zelda's group and stretched out his hand as the Knight pursued him with unrealistic speed.

Mist turned to face Zelda and Impa who stood frozen in confusion about what was unfolding in front of them. "Don't worry, just grab my shoulders." Without having another option but to trust the auburn-haired girl, Zelda and Impa both placed one hand on her shoulders. An elegant looking rod materialized in her hand, and she waited for Ike's hand also to reach her before she spoke in a language Zelda had never heard before.

They were swallowed in a bright light which quickly faded. When the light faded, the rain was still strong, which meant they hadn't gone far. But the town of Kakariko was now below where they stood on a mountain side. Death Mountain to be exact.

"Sorry, I can't get us too far away with that one," said Mist, the rod which had appeared in her hand falling apart. "But I don't think they'll find us here." Zelda and Impa released their grips on Mist's shoulders. Ike did the same and stepped away from their group, sheathing his sword.

"Th-thank you," said Zelda over Mist's shoulder to the mysterious Ike. "A-and to you, too," she said looking back at Mist, who grinned back at her, her blue eyes shining in the dark.

"Just doing what we needed to," said Mist simply. "Our problem got dragged into your world. It just doesn't feel right." Zelda was surprised at so simple an explanation.

"You don't mean—."

"She does," Ike spoke up, turning his head to them. "This war that has torn your entire lives apart. It came from our world."


	5. Following Shadows

***Ahem* Pardon me for going so long without updating either of my stories. I recently got into two jobs and haven't had an actual full day off from both in almost three weeks. So that's what I've been doing. Linkcina, I apologize for taking so long, but I needed to ensure the quality of the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Following Shadows**

"So… why're your ears all pointy like that?" asked Caeda, as Link countered another strike from Marth's Falchion. "Can you turn into a dragon?"

Slightly distracted by such an odd question, Link let his guard down and Marth knocked his training sword from his hands. Quickly reacting, he rolled to dodge Marth's next swing and picked the iron blade from the ground and lifted it over his head to block what he thought would be an overhead swing, but was disappointed when he noticed that the Falchion was already held at his neck for a killing stroke. "No," he replied with annoyance at Caeda.

"I was actually gonna ask why your ears are rounded!" spurted Jixi, flying around Caeda's head. "It's pretty normal to have pointed ears around here."

Link grabbed the training sword by its blade and held it towards Marth, pointing the hilt at him. "Keep it," said Marth simply. "You're improving quicker than anyone I've ever seen. You just need to work on your focus. You actually almost had me there." The entire morning had been spent trying to find a path, but every time they left their camp, they'd always find themselves back without any explanation. Marth had resigned to train Link until they could come up with a way to get out of the woods.

"You fight with the ferocity of a dragon, but your skill needs work," said Marth, pulling Link by the hand to a standing position. "You can never hope to hit me if you can't outsmart me." Lucina had been pacing around the camp, trying to find any clue as to how they could escape. Caeda was sitting on a stump, watching their bout intently.

"Not to mention you'll need to learn how to fight someone with a lance like Caeda." Marth gave his fiancé an encouraging smile as she continued to daze off into the distance. "With my sword, I'm practically hopeless against her."

Marth walked over to where she sat and nudged her to the edge of the stump to make room for himself. Link took this as an opportunity to see if Lucina had found anything yet, and walked over to where she stood observing a tree, as if it had some special significance.

"How's your training coming along?" asked Lucina, not taking her eyes off the seemingly normal tree.

"Not bad," Link replied honestly. "You learn anything yet?"

Lucina remained silent as she continued to stare up and down the trunk, until she finally looked at Link shaking her head. "I can tell you it has nothing to do with the trees. And… I do have a theory…" From this distance, Link could see the markings in her left eye more clearly. They weren't random or scattered marks, but they were making some sort of symbol. He tried to keep himself from staring, but with a face as pretty as hers, it was rather difficult to accomplish.

"Every time we go out, we go a different way," she started her theory. "I noticed once in particular, it took quite a while longer than usual for us to end up back here." Link nodded, remembering the moment it seemed like they'd finally found their way. "Well… it's crazy, but I think there's an enchantment on this place that keeps us from going any way except one specific way. We would have to go exactly the right way if we want to get out or find the temple or anything like that. Just to get out of _here_ at least."

Link thought that it made more sense than any theories he'd heard before. It didn't feel as if they were simply trapped, only that they were continuously going in circles. "Anyways," said Lucina, suddenly drawing her sword and taking a stance of attack, "come at me."

Instantly, Lucina lunged at him, her hair and cape flowing behind her rapid movement. Link barely had time to draw the sword from his back to defend himself against the sword which was swinging up towards his waist. Before having time to react, Lucina had already brought her sword around to Link's other side, where he didn't have the advantage of holding a shield.

In that instant, Link realized that she had actually left herself open for an attack where her sword had just left a space. He brought the sword close to her body and stopped his attack just as Marth had in their fight earlier. Lucina's sword was also hanging over Link's shoulder, bringing them to a stale mate, or so Link thought. Lucina's free hand was already grabbing Link's sword arm, without him even realizing it.

"You shouldn't be willing to sacrifice yourself for a killing stroke just because you see that it's possible," said Lucina, releasing Link's arm and sheathing her sword. "I mean, I definitely wouldn't have been able to stop all of your force in that swing, but I'd survive, and you would certainly be dead. It's a game of survival. You should be trying to survive the fight as much as your trying to cut down your enemy. I know you're brave, but you need to live for those you're trying to protect."

Link remembered his carelessness in going back to save Lucina from Ashnard. If she hadn't been there, he'd be dead. Then again, she probably would've fallen as well, so he didn't feel any guilt in his endeavor.

"Exactly," said Marth, interrupting Lucina's advice. "Let's say you're trying to protect Lucina again, but you die. Imagine how much she'd miss you!" Lucina's face grew red quicker than Link's own as she glared at Marth. He simply smiled and continued to speak, "But it seems that we have a… guest of some kind."

Link was surprised at the announcement of a guest, looking over at Lucina whose face showed just as much surprise as he felt. "An enemy?" she asked.

"Well…" began Marth, a rather questioning look appearing on his own face now. "I don't really know, but he certainly is talented with that flute of his." Jixi flew around them and shot towards where Caeda was still sitting on the stump.

Link had heard plenty of stories about the Lost Woods while growing up in Faron, but he'd never really believed them. Upon hearing Marth say that the visitor was talented with the flute, he had his own suspicions arise concerning who their new visitor must've been, as it started to seem that the stories about the Lost Woods were true.

Link took hurried steps ahead of Marth as Lucina followed to see who it was himself. When they reached Caeda, they looked to where she was gazing up in the canopy to see the visitor, dancing atop one of the thick branches, playing a tune that was repetitive, yet very pleasing. Jixi was floating around his scarecrow-like face, which was gazing in a never-ending smile.

Jixi flew back down as Marth calmly walked back to Caeda's stump, nudging her again to make room for him, as if the guest was giving them a show of some kind. "It's a Skull Kid!" exclaimed Jixi, circling Link's head.

"A what?" asked Lucina, folding her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"Well, one of the reasons why people avoid the Lost Woods," started Jixi, "is because if you get lost in here for too long, you turn into something else. The Skull Kids are children who never found their way out."

"What happens to adults?" asked Lucina, again with an air of urgency.

"Umm… I'd rather not say. Best we get out of here before you have to find out. Besides, I don't think it's gonna be safe here much longer. Skull Kids really don't like grownups."

Lucina already had her sword drawn and held in a defensive pose. If there was anything Link could already tell about this girl, it was that she was always ready to defend herself. Just what exactly did she go through growing up?

Suddenly the music from the flute stopped, and the figure playing the flute vanished in a cloud of leaves. Almost instantly after, a firelight from a lantern appeared in front of them and the Skull Kid was standing on a fallen tree only a few feet in front of them.

"It's been a long time since I've seen anyone," said the child in a mischievous voice. He had a withered pointed hat, and a lantern hanging in his hand. His tattered clothes were made from leaves and bark which he'd apparently gathered from around this place. His face was gray, with two glowing orange eyes and a wide undying smile with more teeth than any normal human would have. His nose wasn't a nose, just two nostrils in the center of his face, and strange markings were around his eyes.

"Oh, do keep playing, it was lovely," said Caeda, her metaphorical trance broken. "It's been a pretty rough day for all of us."

His eyes squinted as he continued to smile. "You… liked it?" asked the child.

"Yes, it was quite pleasant," said Marth calmly, standing up and prodding Lucina to sheath her sword, who somewhat reluctantly did so. "Would you continue to play for us?"

Without speaking an answer, the Skull Kid brought the wooden flute back to his mouth and began to play the same melodic tune. It wasn't an uplifting song as it had sounded before, however. Now as he played, there seemed to a be a weight of melancholy surrounding the tune, and Link felt his heart grow heavy. The others around him all had looks of deep concern on their faces, as if they were longing for the past, as Link felt himself begin to do.

For several minutes they listened, as Link began to remember his friends from his youth. Their faces began to swim around in his mind, and he longed to see them again, but painfully remembered the day they entered the woods of Faron and never emerged from within them, leaving him the only boy of his age in the whole town. He remembered the reason he started to delve deeper and deeper into those woods every time he entered for a hunt, as if going to find them still after years of searching.

He felt tears begin to well in his eyes, but managed to hold them in, while still hoping that the tune would continue. He looked at the others, seeing the pain in their eyes as well. Marth was holding in plenty of what Link was, but Caeda had burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Lucina was holding in as much as she could, but there were two small streams leaking from her eyes. The pain in her expression was enough that Link could see she'd endured more than anyone in the party, despite being the youngest there.

"All of you are so sad," said the Skull Kid, ending his tune abruptly with his statement. "Are you angry at me?" The wooden flute was still held to his smiling mouth as if he were about to play again, though no sound came from it.

"N-no, no, not at all!" exclaimed Caeda, running to the child to give him a hug. "It was so beautiful, do play for us again sometime!" As Caeda knelt with her arms around the child, the hands holding the flute dropped to his sides, as he stood awkwardly, as if he didn't understand what was going on.

"What are you doing?" asked the Skull Kid, as Caeda continued to pout. "Why are you still crying? I don't like making people cry." He broke the embrace and stood off from Caeda, looking around at the group of warriors. He raised one distinct finger and pointed it at Link.

"You, I want to play with you!" shouted the boy, much to Link's surprise. Immediately, dozens of shadows engulfed the area, completely obscuring Link's vision. His ears perked up and he heard shouts come from Marth, Caeda, and Lucina, and he tried to move through the darkness to try and find them before anything terrible happened.

The shadows dispersed, and Link found that he was again in the same place as before with the Skull Kid standing mere feet in front of him, however the others of his party were nowhere to be seen. Even Jixi was missing.

"Where are they?" Link shouted at the boy, who stood giggling with his creepy smile. Was this all part of the kid's plan?

"I took them somewhere so they can help us play," said the boy, floating up to one of the high branches, dead leaves trailing from his body as he did. "If you can win, I'll show you the way out, but if you lose, you'll be my friends forever in here."

Something, no, everything about what was happening really disturbed Link, but he knew that he had no other choice but to listen to the Skull Kid. "What do you want to play?"

"I want you to find me!" His lantern suddenly burst into light. With one last glance at Link, the child disappeared into the trees, leaving Link alone to wander through the forest.

 _Perfect_ , thought Link. _Now I can just get lost alone._ He looked around the area for any clue that may have been left by the mysterious little imp, only seeing a faint glow coming from the canopy of a few trees in the distance. Immediately he began to sprint towards the light, hopping over fallen trees and avoiding getting tangled in the underbrush.

As soon as he got close to where the dancing light in trees was bouncing overhead, he heard the same tune being played on the wooden flute of the Skull Kid. _Too easy,_ he thought. He strung an arrow on his bow and pointed to where the light was dancing. _Am I really going to kill him, though?_ he thought mercifully, beginning to lower his bow.

A split second later, Link rolled on the ground in front of him, dodging the swing from a crude looking iron sword. He turned to face his opponent, but the sight of it made a chill run down his neck. It was like a puppet, only with a creepy face to match that of the Skull Kid's. Not only that, but it had crude-looking blue straws attached to its head, and a flowing blue cape of leaves tied around its neck. A few other ornaments which exemplified its inspiration gave Link the clue that this was supposed to represent Marth in some way.

"Do you like it?" Link heard the voice of the Skull Kid echo around him. "Don't worry about killing it, only his strings are tied to your princely friend."

The Marth Puppet immediately charged towards Link with the crude blade, but Link had seen this attack from Marth in their trainings earlier and beat it aside after quickly drawing his own blade from his back.

The Puppet swung the blade back around towards Link, though he jumped slightly to dodge the attack and brought his sword in a horizontal slash to catch the Puppet in the air. Much to his surprise, however, the Puppet parried the attack and attempted a counter stab at Link's head.

Quickly reacting, Link brought his sword screaming upwards to knock the attack above his head. His hat was skewered, meaning that if he had reacted any slower, he'd have been dead. As Link continued to defend himself against the speedy, yet strong attacks, he realized that this Puppet was using all of the same techniques that he'd seen Marth do earlier, and the creepy smile didn't ease his tension in the slightest. He could tell one clear difference between the two, however. The Puppet was nowhere near as skilled as the real Marth. The attacks weren't precise, and there was an apparent lack of speed and way too much force behind each sword stroke.

As the attacks continued to rain down, Link waited for an opening, trying to remember what he'd learned in his lessons earlier that day. _You can never hope to hit me if you can't outsmart me_ , Marth's voice rang clearly in his head, which gave him an idea. He took a few steps back through the murky earth and held out his sword in his right hand. It felt uncomfortable, but he knew this would be the trick.

He lunged forward at the Puppet, which had been poised to defend itself, and it took the bait. It brought the sword to defend itself on its left side, leaving its right side completely vulnerable to attack. The swords clanged in the air, followed by the clunking of wood as Link kicked the Puppet hard on its right side.

Link quickly brought the sword back into his left hand while the Puppet tried to regain its balance, and brought the full force of his swing, decapitating the Puppet, which burst into smoke upon its collapse to the earth.

He sheathed his sword and looked back up to the canopy and saw that the light had disappeared, which meant that the Skull Kid was clearly not finished playing his game. _Guess this means I'll have to fight Puppets for Lucina and Caeda, too._ He scanned the canopy around him until he saw the dancing light of the lantern once again.

He wasn't sure who he'd have to fight next, but the anticipation of having to go against Caeda was weighing heavily on his mind. He'd fought against Marth and briefly against Lucina, which gave him somewhat of an idea of how to fight them. But against Caeda and her lance, he began to pray to the goddesses that he could pull through.

He reached the next light, but this area was much rockier and covered in fallen branches from the nearby trees. Though like the Lost Woods always seemed, it was quite dark, with only just enough light to see things clearly against the mild fog.

The Skull Kid giggled loudly from where he was continuing to play his song, and another Puppet slammed into the ground in front of Link. The straws in its head were painted blue once again, but they were much longer this time. The short cape let Link know that this was the Lucina Puppet, along with the small skirt it had oddly tied around its waist.

Link remembered how his bout with Lucina had ended that afternoon, and remembered that he couldn't sacrifice himself for a killing stroke. Especially considering that his newfound friends' lives were in his hands. Without hesitation, the Lucina Puppet quickly rose and started swinging furiously at him.

It was faster than Link had anticipated, and he was only able to narrowly dodge most of them, receiving a few small cuts from the flurry of swipes. Like the first Puppet, however, the Lucina Puppet was vastly inferior to the actual Lucina. In particular there was little to no coordination in the attacks.

Despite this, dodging and countering each attack put more and more out of Link, and he began to worry that he'd be drained of his energy before the time came to fight with Caeda's lance-wielding Puppet, which he knew he'd have to be prepared for. He parried one attack on his left side, but the Puppet quickly swung the blade around to his other side, and he received a deep cut in his right arm.

Link rolled away from the follow-up swing and looked for anything to hold to use as a shield. He dodged behind one of the bigger rocks around field, and saw a large piece of bark that had fallen off of a nearby tree. He picked it up in his right hand and turned around to face the Puppet which had already begun another attack.

The Puppet swung wildly down at his head. He used the bark shield and deflected the blow and stabbed his sword straight into the center of the wooden Puppet. It still didn't quit and continued to randomly swing the deadly weapon around, though even less coordinated now that it was skewered. Link continued to beat the attacks away with the bark shield and carved his way up to the Puppet's head with the blade, up until it made contact and knocked its head clean off.

Again like the previous foe, it dropped to the earth and popped in a smoke. Link put the sword back in its sheath and threw the bark shield away. He looked up and saw that the Skull Kid had again relocated further away than before. Link searched the area to see if there were any larger branches or bark that he could use as a shield for his next bout, which he knew he had to end quickly if there was any chance of his victory.

Again Link ran to follow the music and the light, finding himself getting more tired by the minute, but forcing himself to continue on through the pain, praying that he wouldn't have to fight anyone else after this. He came to an unusually straight corridor of trees seeing that there was a single tree arched over itself where the Skull Kid was dancing with his lantern.

When he reached the clearing, there was sun surrounding the tree. There was also grass instead of underbrush, and the sky was clear above them. Link hadn't noticed before, but he had apparently been progressing through Lost Woods, rather than appearing back where he had countless times before.

The sinister giggle of the Skull Kid echoed across the clearing, and the final Puppet fell from the sky, wielding a long, dangerous-looking lance. Like the Lucina Puppet, it had long strands of blue straw attached to its wooden head, but there was lipstick and eyeshadow hurriedly marked on its face. This time there was no cape, but the odd skirt was red.

Link held his breath as the Puppet charged at him, but he could see no way to fight it. No opening in the defense, no angle of attack. Just before it skewered him, he dodged with a roll to his right, but almost as fast as Lucina's Puppet, it quickly brought the lance back to an attack thrust.

A sharp pain shot in Link's leg as the lance's tip pierced his calf, disabling his ability to walk or run. He let a yell escape his mouth, but quickly rolled himself away from another strike. He threw aside the useless shield and sword and drew his bow, slinging an arrow faster than he ever had before and letting it fly straight at Caeda Puppet's head. The impact of the arrow knocked the head clean off, and again the Puppet collapsed and burst into smoke.

 _Quickly_ , thought Link, allowing himself to collapse on the ground. The Skull Kid leapt from the arching tree and landed directly in front of Link. "I like you," said the Skull Kid. "You remind me of some of my old friends, but I haven't seen them in a very long time. Play with me again someday!" Shadows engulfed the area, and when they dispersed, Lucina, Marth, and Caeda stood unharmed around Link, and the Skull Kid was nowhere to be seen.

Caeda quickly ran to Link and held him in her arms, as Marth immediately began to scan the area for any sign of more enemies. Lucina knelt with Caeda next to Link, looking at the wounds he had received at their expense. "And we were the ones who were supposed to protect you," said Lucina.

The last thing Link saw before he blacked out was Lucina's look of concern, and behind her, up in the trees, a door.


End file.
